Friday, December 26, 2008

Juliet Rose Hallock



Juliet Rose Hallock was born December 23rd, 2008 at 6:52pm. She weighed 7lbs 9oz, 20 inches long. She has a darling full head of blondish hair and the sweetest little face. Mommy started having contractions at 8pm the night before after a very long walk. We were sent to the hospital at 1pm the next day after my doctor's appointment. Labor went well & she was born after 35min of pushing. She is perfectly healthy & happy & is finally getting the hang of latching on. We were able to come home the next day and so we spent our first Christmas here at home with our beautiful daughter.










Monday, December 22, 2008

Family Pictures



Me(with baby in my belly) & Dan, my sister Treeva & her husband David & little Dax, my sister Tasha & her husband Kyle.

Sunday, December 21, 2008

Lots of things

Waiting...waiting...still waiting for baby. My due date is tomorrow.

Nursery/office/sewing room all squeezed into a 9ft by 6 ft space.


Yesterday we took a quick trip up in elevation to play in the snow. It was so beautiful & thankfully we didn't get stranded when it was alot snowier than we expected.


Friday was my last day at work for awhile. And such a memorable day, & week actually. I love the snow! It was bitter-sweet, as excited as I am for baby to come & for a break from work; it made me sad to leave Friday. This had been my routine for almost 4 years; it's so weird to think it will never be quite the same again.


Cats are very naughty.

Tuesday, December 16, 2008

Update

Ok so yesterday I had another appointment with my OB. Dan picked me up because of the scary icy road conditions & it took us 45 minutes to get from RiverBend to Country Club Rd (normally about a 10 minute drive). I was a half hour late & so they were all waiting around on me since I was the last patient of the day. Oops.

So now the update. Yeah, no change at all. Seriously I have 6 days to go & I'm barely 1cm & not changing. No contractions, no nothin'.

Oh well, now isn't exactly the best time for me to go into labor anyways. With the bad weather expected this week it's probably better not to have to drive to the hospital in the middle of the night.
Plus my sister Tasha is out of town with her hubby having their honeymoon that they didn't get to have last year, and she forgot her cell phone charger so I wouldn't be able to get ahold of her to come. And even if I could, with the driving conditions so scary, she probably wouldn't be able to get here anytime soon.

So that’s ok I guess, I can wait until next week. Hopefully I will have made some progress by next week's appointment. Sounds like if I haven't gone into labor on my own & I have made at least a little more progress, that they'll induce me on the 23rd.



Also it is really cold outside! I love it though. It’s great to bundle up & play in the snow. Dan & I took the dogs for a walk last night. It was frigid, but so beautiful. I wish we had more of this kind of weather in our Oregon winters. Rain isn’t nearly so fun. I’m so glad we have heat now. Our woodstove makes for a warm & cozy little house.

Sunday, December 14, 2008

Tasha & Kyle



My little sister Tasha & her husband Kyle have been married a year now & so yesterday I had the opportunity to go up to the Portland Temple where they were sealed for time & all eternity. They are so adorable & happy together & I was so trilled to see them be sealed. Just a year & a half ago Tasha was in a very different place in her life & I am so proud of her & the choices she has made that brought her to the temple. I love you Tasha & Kyle!!! Congratulations!!!

Thursday, December 11, 2008

Cankles


I'll spare you a nasty picture of my feet. So the last couple days my ankles & feet have been swelling a bit, giving me what I can only describe as cankles(see above). By the end of the day sitting in my chair for hours it happens. I should probably be grateful that this is only just now happening to me as I hear this happens to lots of women during pregnancy.
But seriously, it looks gross; and is rather uncomfortable. My boss walked in today and surprised me while I had my feet propped up on my desk in an attempt to relieve the swelling.
I'm going to go read Twilight now so I can properly elevate my cankles some more.

That is all.

Ba-Humbug Liberals!

I despise the whole "political-correctness" pressure that comes around this time of year. First they take Christ out of Christmas - try to make it into a superficial consumer holiday. But that isn't enough, now they want to take the Christmas out of Christmas! Where does it stop??? Today in our office we had to remove a Christmas tree & poinsetta plants from veiw because "people complained" & they "didn't want to offend anyone". Well congratulations: I am SO offended! Who complains about a tree & some plants anyways? I'll tell you, someone with a bug up their butt & too much time on their hands. Seriously what is wrong with you? Hateful people.

A Politically Correct Christmas Greeting:

Best wishes for an environmentally conscious, socially responsible, low stress, non-addictive, gender neutral, winter solstice holiday, practiced within the most joyous traditions of the religious persuasion of your choice, but with respect for the religious persuasion of others who choose to practice their own religion as well as those who choose not to practice a religion at all;

Additionally, a fiscally successful, personally fulfilling, and medically uncomplicated recognition of the generally accepted calendar year 2000, but not without due respect for the calendars of choice of other cultures whose contributions have helped make our society great, without regard to the race, creed, color, religious, or sexual preferences of the wishes.

(Disclaimer: This greeting is subject to clarification or withdrawal. It implies no promise by the wisher to actually implement any of the wishes for her/himself or others and no responsibility for any unintended emotional stress these greetings may bring to those not caught up in the holiday spirit.)



And a ba-humbug to you too, hateful Christmas-destroying people. I laugh at you & your petty selfishness!

Sunday, December 7, 2008

Getting the Tree

Saturday we drove up into the mountains & hiked in to pick out our Christmas tree. Let me tell you, hiking gets alot more tiring when you are two weeks from giving birth. I took a nice nap on the drive home. Sadly there wasn't any snow to play in, just some heavy frost. But the sun came out & it was beautiful & warm up there. Such a nice day.





Such a nice tree. I love Christmas!

Pictures

My first attempt at paper-piecing quilt making. Made a baby blanket for Teresa.

Kitty likes the new baby rocker. Just keepin' it warm.

My sisters.

Awe... such a cutie.

Little Dax is excited for his new cousin to arrive...or maybe he just really likes to play with pink helium balloons.

Friday, December 5, 2008

I exaggerate...

Ok so for the record, I'm not miserable. I really am very happy, most of the time. Sometimes I just get whiney & grouchy or let things stress me out. But I'm happy now. Life is good, I really can't complain. And I love Dan, he is great. I am feeling good, maybe a wee bit tired these days but I bet that has something to do with having to get up several times a night to use the bathroom. I should probably just try and get used to it because I certainly wont be getting any more sleep after baby comes. But at least then I will be on maturnity leave so I might find time for a nap during the day. I LOVE naps. Sometimes I envy my cat, he naps like he hasn't a care in the world, which is probably true.
I am super excited for maturnity leave. It is like a dream come true. I will be able to "play house" 24-7 for months. It is going to be so awesome, I always wanted to just be able to play house :)
So I really like the song from the Twilight soundtrack "Flightless Bird, American Mouth". It is really a pretty song...except for the lyrics. Those are the weirdest lyrics I have ever read and I can't make heads or tails of what it is supposed to mean. Does anyone know? I can only guess that they were hopped up on drugs or something while they wrote it because it makes absolutely no sense.

Wednesday, December 3, 2008

37 weeks


Ah... the 37 week belly. It is large. I get stuck sometimes, like in bathrooms stalls. I'm just not used to having a belly to account for when going through a tight space.
I'm kinda miserable right now. I had my checkup today and I'm still not dilating at all! Doctor said that is perfectly fine, but I'm bummed because I was really hoping to be making some progress toward having my baby. The suspense is just killing me!!!
Pregnant-wise I feel great, very unaffected. But I am just extremely itchy right now. I woke up a few days ago just covered in what looks like bug bites. I can't find the offending bug & I am continuing to get more bug bites throughout the day at work so I think it followed me there. I don't know what the deal is or what is biting me but it's driving me crazy. Dan didn't get bit at all so he thinks it's just in my head. Grrr...I know a bug bite when I see one.
Oh well, I guess everything happens for a reason. I just really need to quit worrying about it & stressing out because it's only making me unhappy.

Saturday, November 22, 2008

Twilight & good friends.


I was going to wait a few weeks for the crowds to thin out alittle to go and see Twilight. Then this morning my dear friend Nancy from work & her daughter called me to say they had an extra ticket & wondering if I would go with them. Be still my heart! It was so much fun. I can't imagine going to see this movie with anyone but these two. We have been talking & fawning about Twilight for months now & it was so much fun to go and see it with them & drool over Edward...it's nice to have drooling buddies :)
Thank you Nancy & Mandolin!!! You guys are so sweet.
And the movie...it was just great. It stayed very close to the book, which I adore. Edward was handsome & dangerous & thankfully only made a few cringe-worthy faces. & Bella really surprised me. I'm not a big Kristen Stewart fan but she did an awesome & lovable Bella. My one complaint; it just went by too fast. I could have sat there & watched a few more hours of Twilight *sigh* I look forward to it being on DVD so I can enjoy any extra footage or deleted scenes.

Thursday, November 13, 2008

Liberals are like slinkies...

Liberals are like slinkies. Not much good for anything, but it still makes you smile when you push one down the stairs.



Saturday, November 8, 2008

Duck game

Jordan invited us to come with her to the Oregon vs Stanford game today. It was so much fun, my favorite game ever. Even though it poured nearly the entire time & we got soaked, it was so awesome. Thank you Jordan & Brandon!!!!

Brandon & Jordan Bair.


Our very own tailgate party.

We got soaked.

Thursday, November 6, 2008

Election Woes

I am so very disappointed with the way this election seems to have turned out. I’ll start off locally. I have never had much faith in the majority of citizens in Eugene & they continue to reinforce that. I don’t know why I get my hopes up each election that good will prevail & the liberal sheep of this community will pull their heads out of the ground & make a good decision. But alas, I am always disappointed. Now they are all up on their high horse saying they won because “they stuck to the issues” and insinuating that Republicans lost because they are all must be mud-slinging hate mongers. Hypocrytes. They are all just dirty politicians any way you call it, but I especially hate a self-righteous politician.

I have no faith that my vote counts for anything here. But I still have to pay taxes to support people and issues that don’t give a crap about me or my values.

I am also upset about Obama getting elected. And just as I figured, all everyone is talking about is how historical it is. What is so historical about it? Oh yeah, it’s because he is black. (Actually he is only like 8% black, but that’s beside the point.) It is just as I suspected all along, it was always about race. No one was really listening to his ideology; they were all just jumping on the “it’s cool & progressive of me to vote for a black man” bandwagon.

Now I despised those people with their “Bush: he’s not my president” slogans on many different levels, and I won’t be obnoxious like that with Obama. However, I won’t just stick my tail between my legs & admit defeat.

I don’t support Obama, and I won’t. Just because he is elected does not make his ideology any more palatable to me. I don’t trust him & I’ll be watching as he makes those “changes” that I so disagree with & praying that his worshippers wake up and realize that Obama-ization of America isn’t really in any of our best interests.

Friday, October 24, 2008

Tag


What is your husbands name? George, but we all call him Dan.

How long have you been married? going on 4 years

How long did you date? 3 months before we got engaged

How old is he? 30 (he's old :)

Who eats sweets? me, he doesn't really care for sweets unless he is just eating them to keep me from eating them all.

Who said I Love you first? me of course, & his heartbreakingly romantic response was "I know"

Who is taller? Dan

Who can sing best? me, Dan doesn't try

Who is smarter? hmmm thats debatable :) I'll say Dan, but he had a 7 year head start on me.

Who does laundry? I have done it since we started dating.

Who pays the bills? Me

Who sleeps on the right side? Dan. Soon to change when baby comes.

Who mows the lawn? Dan

Who cooks dinner? Me.

Who drives? Dan

Who's first to admit when you are wrong? neither, Dan is always sure he's right & I'd hate to let him win :)

Who kissed who first? Dan tried to get a "wee kiss" on our first date, but I didn't let him kiss me for a few more weeks. Mind you, I was faithfully waiting for a missionary at the time.

Who asked who out first? Dan of course

Who wears the pants? Dan. I wouldn't want to be married to some sissy boy.


I tag Brandi, Lanette, Amber A. and Amy W. Make sure at the end of this tag, you tag 4 people and post their name, then go to their blogs and let them know they have been tagged.

Friday, October 17, 2008

Twilight goodness


I just really love this picture of Edward & Bella at the prom. It is so romantic.

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

30 weeks, Twilight & graffiti

Ok so I am 30 weeks along & officially in the third trimester now. I had another check up yesterday & everything is great. Measuring good, heartbeat good. I have only gained 5 lbs so far. I can still button my jeans(although I'm thinking of investing in some maternity pants that don't apply pressure to the abdomen). I'm finding the belly is more sentitive now & anything constricting is very unpleasant. In the last week or so I have started having terrible heartburn. Now I know how Dan used to feel, poor guy. But the doctor said I don't just have to use Tums, I can use prilosec or zantac. Thank goodness because Tums just don't cut it and they are kinda yucky. My awesome sisters are doing a baby shower for me & saving me from having to do it myself. Thanks girls, it means alot to me.
My doctor is working over the Christmas holiday this year so I can pretty much have baby whenever. Thats kinda nice but I feel bad for him. I know somebody has to work the holidays; but it must be hard, especially since he has kids. I always feel bad for my doctors at work. They work so hard & are on call all the time- nights, weekends, holidays; it seems like they never get to see their families.

I'm so excited for Twilight to come out. I keep watching the trailer over & over & over. I have never camped out for an opening showing of a movie before but I'm really considering it with this one. I wonder how long I'd have to camp out in line? I'm going to be really good & pregnant by then & sitting on the floor for hours would probably be rather uncomfortable. But you know, it just might be worth it.

Brandi & I did a duet & sacrament meeting last Sunday. It went good & Brandi astounds me that she can sing & play piano at the same time. So cool. I don't know why but I was terribly nervous, as always. So I sat up there sweating & trying not to shake. I wish I could just get over my absurd stage fright; there is just no logical reason for it. Although, I suppose it can benefit me sometimes. I haven't had to give a talk for several years. I'm assuing that is because it was just too aweful to watch me up there nearly having a heart attack to make me do it again. But thats just fine with me.

Dan had a bad experience Sunday morning. We have had a lifesize poster of Duck football player Jeremiah Johnson up on our garage for over a year now(I know it's tacky, but Dan really likes it) So about 3am(according to our neighbor) while we were sleeping away, some hoodlum teenagers wrote in orange & black paint on it "OSU Go Beavs". Dan was so upset about it, and the fact that someone would come onto our property and graffiti on our home. It makes you feel violated, like you can't trust anyone. Living on such a busy street & with neighbors that are always home we have gotten comfortable & trusting I guess. We have never had anything stolen or any crime at all since we have lived there. It's just too bad. Luckily Dan has been able to wash some of it off, so it wasn't completely ruined.

Anyways, other than that - life is good.

Monday, October 6, 2008

Weekends go by too fast

On Saturday Dan & I did yard work(between torrential downpours). The dogs have been doing their best to turn our backyard into a mud pit so we got 2 pickup loads of gravel & spread it around. I discovered shoveling gravel while pregnant is alot harder to do. My abs are getting weak.
I made some zuccini chocolate chip cookies which were really good, but I couldn't get Dan to try them because they contained "nasty squash". I took some to the neighbors though & they concurred with me that they were tasty. I also cut up & cooked a turkey in my crock pot, which turned out much better than my previous attempts at oven-roasting a turkey. I'm not sure what I do wrong but by the time the internal temperature is good the drumsticks are always jerky. Ha! but not this time, not one bit of jerkified turkey.
We listened to Conference on Sunday from our internet & had a nice cozy fire. I love our woodstove. Last winter was our first with heat and is was SO nice. Our little house may be old & kinda decrepit but now at least it's warm & so much cheaper than other mortgages. We'll make due here, we don't need a nice new house. In these uncertain times it's nice to feel secure in our jobs, to have a home, to be out of debt & living within our means. I feel peaceful & comfortable. It's a good place to be.


What is this blurry foliage you are looking at? Ok so I just want to brag about my awesome shooting skills. Well, not awesome, but I did have some very good beginners luck. So Dan & I went shooting, or "plinking" as Dan calls it, this weekend up McGowen creek. I was practicing with a .22 rifle with a scope. I was doing really good hitting spent shotgun shells off an old shot-up TV we found that I decided it would be cool if I could cut down some blackberry "spines"(stems) with bullets. I used ALOT of bullets(good thing .22 rounds a cheap) but I was finally successful in taking down three blackberry stems in a row. Here is my camera-phone proof. I am especially pround of the middle one because it actually cut it clean off(instead of just making it snap over).

Wednesday, October 1, 2008

Monday, September 22, 2008

27 Weeks

Ok I finally took some more belly pics. Thats a 27 week old belly for ya.




27 weeks along now. Time sure does fly. I’m definitely feeling pregnant. Especially when I first get up in the morning. I think because my tummy was relaxed while I slept all night it just feels huge in the morning. I think Dan is getting more excited about the whole thing. On Saturday I walked him to the Duck game & then walked back. I was having cramps so he called to check on me, & to check how “our girl” was doing too. It was so cute to hear him talk about her like that. He really wants to name her Siobhan; so he keeps calling her that so that I will get used to the idea or something. Unless for some reason she is born on December 7th. Then he wants to name her Pearl (since the 7th is Pearl Harbor Day). So clever.

Dax is have surgery #2 tomorrow up at OHSU, so we are dog sitting the Trixy-sausage. This surgery is to close up his pallete. Poor little guy is going to have to wear the arm binders again for a few weeks. Last Thursday was his first birthday. He was such a a tidy little boy while he played with his cake. He just used one hand to mangle his cake & shovel it into his mouth. He didn't want to get it all over himself like Treeva was hoping. Just mouth & one hand. But he did eat a TON of the cake, probably half of it in all. He had an enourmous belly after that & he was quite pleased with himself.